Invst LLC Sells 13,115 Shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)

Invst LLC decreased its position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO) by 72.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,109 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,115 shares during the period. Invst LLC’s holdings in Altria Group were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MO. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Altria Group by 120.6% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,762,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,201,000 after buying an additional 4,789,788 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Altria Group during the fourth quarter valued at $525,810,000. United Services Automobile Association lifted its position in Altria Group by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 1,803,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,742,000 after buying an additional 919,058 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Altria Group by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,674,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,567,000 after buying an additional 915,478 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Altria Group by 131.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,418,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,211,000 after buying an additional 805,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the company’s stock.

Altria Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Altria Group stock traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.07. 12,662,503 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,285,990. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a one year low of $39.06 and a one year high of $51.40.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $6.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.39 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 42.25% and a negative return on equity of 232.55%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.68%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Altria Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Argus raised Altria Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Altria Group from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Altria Group from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.90.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.